We recently connected with Amanda Catarzi Hengst and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

I’m extremely grateful for my 8 years of experience as a social worker prior to becoming a business owner. Working in highly chaotic and emotional situations forced me to become an excellent communicator. I learned how to rapidly de-escalation a negative experience as well as celebrate and multiply positive ones. These skills were easily translated into sales, negotiating, and brokering deals now on behalf of Automation Empire and Wholesale Automation. Without my prior experience, I would have had a much steeper learning curve and not able to bring as much value as I have to both companies. If you’re ever working a job and are questioning why you’re there, take a step back and ask what and who you can learn from.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I met Ron Earley (CEO of Automation Empire and Wholesale Automation) at a Starbucks in my town. He had agreed to meet quickly and sign a copy of his best-selling book, Closer, for me. When we met, we instantly clicked and that quick meet-up turned into a 90 min conversation. I now own equity in both companies and am the Director for both Automation Empire and Wholesale Automation.

Automation Empire is a state recognized investment group. We help our clients invest in Amazon storefronts and then manage the store on their behalf. We are not only the original Amazon automation company but we are unique in the fact that we own every single part of the management process. Many other competitors outsource or use white label services. This means they are unable to address problems, take quick action, or customize their services to fight your unique needs. We want to give our clients the highest level of costumer service and maximize their ROI and we effectively do that by keeping each part of the company in-house.

It’s insanely gratifying to give people a sustainable, safe investment option that gives them monthly returns and appreciates over time. We are not just helping them build an additional revenue stream, we’re helping parents take their kids to Disney world and create core memories. We’re helping people get out of debt. We’re creating opportunity for freedom and wealth.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

Many people have asked us why we don’t sell on Etsy, Walmart or Facebook… Let me ask you a question back: When you need something delivered quick that you won’t be able to find in stores, where is the first place you go? Amazon.

When everyone was sold out of toilet paper during the lockdowns, did you go on Etsy or Facebook to try and buy some? No, you went to Amazon.

When money is tight and you’re looking for the best deal and well reviewed products, you go to Amazon.

Amazon is also one of the two trillion dollar businesses in America, we want to give you a piece of that pie.

This is why Amazon FBA is our sole focus. We’re not interested in “good” or “okay” investments for our clients, we want the best. We don’t cut corners in the ecom industry, we build upon the cornerstones of success, resulting in monthly returns for our clients.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I first started with Automation Empire and Wholesale Automation, I was writing content for them and acting as an executive assistant. Honestly, no one was sure what to do with me but we all knew I was going to grow into another role. As months went buy, a need in distributions opened up and naturally I offered to take on the management of that new area and build out the systems and processes that went along with it. This was a massive pivot for me as I knew nothing about distributions, wholesale, freight brokering or warehouse management… but I knew myself to know that I could figure it out.

Myself and the two other owners saw me building out this new role and offered me a raise. I wasn’t interested in a raise, I was interested in something more, equity. I politely declined the raise and asked them to not approach with any raises or promotions until they felt I had earned equity in the company. They were surprised and still gave me a raise but a few months later, I received an csuite position on the team along with equity in both companies. Again this was another massive shift that accompanied a massive learning curve.

No longer was I simply building out systems and processes, now I was building out teams, developing leaders, holding people accountable, tracking data, making adjustments to the processes, and much much more. It was a very stressful shit but pressure is a privilege. Pressure speaks to having authority, responsibility, and the opportunity for impact. I embraced the struggle and now have an expert team running a seamless distribution operation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.automationempire.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/amandacatarzi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAutomationEmpire
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-catarzi/
• Other: www.wholesaleautomationllc.com www.amandacatarzi.com